Two mile Victorian railway line that runs 1,000ft under the Welsh hills and was closed by the Beeching cutbacks to be given new lease of life as Britain's longest cycle tunnel

Disused Rhondda Tunnel closed 50 years ago as part of sweeping closures
Engineers due to visit 3,148m tunnel next week for first time since it closed
Cyclists could retrace steam locomotives' route from Rhondda to Swansea
It would be world's second longest cycle tunnel, after 4,000m Snoqualmie Tunnel near Seattle, U.S

A two-mile Victorian railway line which was shut down 50 years ago under a programme of sweeping closures could reopen as Britain's longest cycle tunnel.

The disused Rhondda Tunnel, which runs 1,000 feet beneath the Welsh hills, was closed as part of the Beeching cutbacks, a project which spelled the end for thousands and stations across the rail network in Britain.

But engineers are due to visit the 3,148m tunnel next week - for the first time since it closed - to see whether it is safe to use as a cycle route.

Under the proposals, it would be one of the longest cycle tunnels in the world, second only to the 4,000m Snoqualmie Tunnel near Seattle in the U.S.

It would also mean cyclists could retrace the route where steam locomotives carried coal from the Rhondda Valley to the port city of Swansea - something which supporters believe could be a huge boom to the tourist industry.

Leanne Wood, leader of Plaid Cymru, said: 'There is a real buzz about this project which could transform these valleys if the tunnel is opened up.'

The railway tunnel, the seventh biggest in Britain, runs beneath the mountains under the Dunraven Forest in the South Wales Valleys.

It was opened in 1890 during the coal boom, after a five-year building project, which was overseen by the tunnel's chief engineer Sydney William Yockney, a pupil of Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

But both ends of the tunnel - at Blaencwm in the Rhondda and Blaengwynfi in the Afan Valley - were filled in during the 1970s.

It came following a report by Dr Richard Beeching, a civil servant from the Isle of Sheppy, who wrote a report called Reshaping of British Railways, which led to far-reaching changes in the transport network.

The engineer had been employed to make the entire network more profitable, prompting him to recommend the closure of stations and railway lines which did not make money.

Although some 3,000 miles of railway lines were closed before the report, he became infamous for causing the closures of several rural stations. The report became commonly known as the Beeching Axe.

After falling victim to the report, the abandoned Rhondda Tunnel lay dormant for nearly 50 years. But the Rhondda Tunnel Society formed a few years ago in a bid to secure funding for the tunnel's excavation.

The Highways Agency Historic Railways Estate has now contracted a construction and engineering company to undertake the three-day inspection of the tunnel, alongside the Mines Rescue Service.

Rhondda Tunnel Society chairman Stephen Mackey said it would be a 'heart-stopping' three days.

He said: 'The engineers will be walking the length of the tunnel across three days looking at the safety of the structure to see what it's like after 47 years and to see if it is possible to re-open the tunnel.

'As well as the structural integrity they will be checking for such things as sulphuric acid which can occur in stagnant water and to check carbon dioxide levels to make sure it's breathable down there.'

He added: 'With the interest of the world looking in on the project, the inspections next week are going to be crucial with engineers being in the dark depths of the tunnel evaluating its integrity.

'These are exciting times for us but also a heart-stopping three days. Then we will have the wait for the report and the subsequent findings.'

Would be rather difficult to electrify the Rhondda tunnel I believe plus I think the trackbed has been built on down the afan valley as well as trying to get a connection to the mainline near Port Talbot. I do wonder if the trackbed north of Maesteg is intact as well as Caerau tunnel.

If the link between Treherbert and Maesteg is re instated then you could have a circular service linking Treherbert with Maesteg, Bridgend, Barry, Cardiff & Pontypridd

Would be rather difficult to electrify the Rhondda tunnel I believe plus I think the trackbed has been built on down the afan valley as well as trying to get a connection to the mainline near Port Talbot. I do wonder if the trackbed north of Maesteg is intact as well as Caerau tunnel.

If the link between Treherbert and Maesteg is re instated then you could have a circular service linking Treherbert with Maesteg, Bridgend, Barry, Cardiff & Pontypridd

Click to expand...

This was considered back in the early Sixties and might well have come about if the general attitude of the day, by both Government and Opposition, hadn't been so anti - railway. Those of us who are old enough will remember the pledge by Labour in opposition to halt all major rail closures. As it turned out, the closures not only went ahead but accellerated under Wilson's Government.

The planned service would have taken advantage of the new layout at Cymmer Afan, Following the abandonment of the Rh & S B below Cymmer Afan.Trains would have run via Maesteg to Bridgend and via the Vale of Glamorgan and Cardiff back to Treherbert A few DMUs carried the map of this route but they were swiftly removed.

A group of us walked/climbed/cycled over the top, in Summer 2013. To say that was difficult is an understatement. I wouldn't do that again, but if the tunnel re-opened, I'd absolutely want to cycle through it!

Either way, I want to cycle along the Afan Valley again, and I'd urge anyone who can ride a bike to do so too. You won't be disappointed.

Don't forget that the reason these lines were built was to carry freight, mainly coal from the pits to the ports. It wasn't just the anti rail attitude of the 1960's, it was the decline of 'King Coal' and the switch of freight to the roads that were the major factor in line closures in the area, simply because passenger traffic was never that high on most lines even when railways were at their peak.

I read a book that was written by a Cymmer signalman who said that although trains were used for those travelling longer distances, most local traffic went by bus.

The Afan Valley is beautiful, and I'd recommend a visit to anyone who has never been there.

The Rhondda Tunnel Society has been formed to try and restore the Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway Tunnel — the second-longest rail tunnel in Wales and the 17th longest in the UK — to usefulness and response has been overwhelming.

Group chairman Stephen Mackey told Wales Online's David Owens: “Since we’ve started the ball rolling by setting up the Rhondda Tunnel Society Facebook group everybody has become tunnellers.

“I’ve had people from America in touch, it’s gone through the roof.”

Part of the line now forms the popular Afan Valley Cycleway, a family-friendly trail that connects the mountain bike routes of the Afan Forest Park.

Connecting with those trails would be an important function of the reopened tunnel, Mackey said, and his group is inspired to believe the tunnel can be reopened by the example of the Two Tunnels project near Bath, which opened in April 2013.

Click to expand...

Some links to some interesting expeditions through the tunnel are in that article.

The above article blames Beeching for the closure of this tunnel but I've read from a few sources that the tunnel was closed due to structural problems. The Middleton Press book by Mitchell and Smith on the line from Pontypridd to Port Talbot states it closed on 26th February 1968. The Forgotten Relics website also confirms the year and that it was "temporarily" closed on safety grounds but never reopened due to costs being prohibitive.

That said a visit to the tunnel in 2010 documented on the TunnelsUK.com website shows that large sections are still intact. Advances in construction in the intervening period may mean it is worthwhile reopening.

Finally, it is worth noting that other abandoned tunnels in the Afan valley exist. Most useful would be the Gyfylchi Tunnel from near to the Afan Argoed Centre over to Tonmawr. Pictures are available here on Forgotten Relics. Also there is the Gelli Tunnel east of Cymmer, but this was made surplus to requirements in 1960 when the two lines in the valley were connected by BR. Pictures again on Forgotten Relics.